Jumanji
|purposes = Trap people inside it as well as to magically bring jungle-like African perils to life upon playing. |status = Inactive |type of villainous item = Cursed Boardgame}} Jumanji is a cursed African game with supernatural powers and the titular object of the and the main antagonistic object in the , , the and the . Even though many calamities ensue during the films and the animated series, it must be noticed that the source of all of this evil is none other than the game itself due to its curse of bringing harm to its players. In the 1995 film and the animated series, Jumanji appears as a board game that brings the jungle-like dangers and traps into the real world for whoever plays the game. In the film's sequel Welcome to the Jungle, Jumanji transforms itself into a video game that traps up to five individuals who play it into its virtual world and has them face dangers under the identities of Jumanji's protagonists. Role 1995 Film The game's origins are unclear yet in 1869, in Brantford, New Hampshire, Benjamin and Caleb Sproul discovered Jumanji, survived to win the game but were frightened of its power and set out to bury the box in the woods. When one boy asks, "What if someone digs it up?" the other says, "May God have mercy on his soul". After some time, the game is found 100 years later in the year 1969 by a young boy named Alan Parrish and his friend Sarah Whittle. They both start playing the game, until the game starts to show its dangers by incorporating bats in the house's fireplace that chase Sarah down the street, while Alan is sucked into the game until another player gets a 5 or 8 in the dices. 26 years later in 1995, two other kids, Judy and Peter Shepherd, move into the house Alan lived before with their Aunt Nora after their parents died in a skiing accident in Canada and find the game, unleashing more and more dangers as they progress, but also releasing Alan when Peter rolls the dice and gets a 5. They find Sarah and get her to play the game, and after escaping a stampede, a vicious hunter known as Van Pelt, carnivorous plants, a crocodile and venomous spiders, Alan manages to win the game and send everything back, including time itself, allowing him to hide the game once again. Alan and Sarah throw the Jumanji game tied up with heavy bricks into a river, where it sinks below and out of sight before Alan and Sarah begin a romantic relationship and alter the future. However, it was later seen washed up on a beach, half buried in the sand where two French-Canadian people heard the sound of the game's drums and began to approach it. Animated series In the Jumanji cartoon series, the game's role is more prominent. The game is not just an object, but a sentient being, capable of getting angry and receiving information. The game also doesn't send the dangers to the real world, but transports the players into it's interior universe, meaning that if one doesn't solve the riddle the game proposes, the player will be trapped inside the game forever which is why it also said in the rules: "Jumanji gives a clue to help players complete their turn". Inside the deepest parts of the jungle, one will find a new meaning to "game mechanics", as a giant set of gears and machinery will be in the game's outer reaches, keeping everything under control. ''Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle'' After washing up on a beach, Jumanji would transform itself into a videogame cartridge when it was ultimately found by a man named Vreeke and given to his son Alex in 1996. The game changed its medium due to Alex's apathy towards playing a board game and his interest in videogames. As a video game, Jumanji gives players the option of selecting one of five protagonists, explorer Dr. Smolder Bravestone, zoologist Moose Finbar, genius Professor Shelly Oberon, commando Ruby Roundhouse, and pilot Seaplane McDonough, each of whom has a different skillset. The players are then forcibly brought into its virtual world as the character they selected and in order to leave, must beat the game. Only up to five individuals may be transported into the game at once, as a protagonist cannot be selected by more than one player. The objective of the new Jumanji is to return the Jaguar's Eye jewel to its statue after it is given to the players by the ally NPC Nigel. Opposing them is a re-created Van Pelt, who is now depicted as a corrupt explorer seeking to claim the Jaguar's Eye for himself. Van Pelt is able to control the wildlife in Jumanji to hunt down the protagonists and also has an army of henchmen at his disposal. Players are given three lives and if all are used up, presumably die for good. Alex became the video game's first victim after he selected Seaplane McDonough as his character. Twenty years later, high school students Spencer Gilpin, Anthony "Fridge" Johnson, Bethany Walker, and Martha Kaply found the game during detention and were sucked in as Dr. Smolder Bravestone, Moose Finbar, Professor Shelly Oberon, and Ruby Roundhouse, respectively. Managing to make their way through the game's levels, the four eventually found Alex, who was unable to get past Jumanji's flying section and was down to his last life. Working together and using their unique abilities, the players were able to overcome the game's challenges and despite all being reduced to their final lives, returned the Jaguar's Eye to its statue to beat Jumanji. Upon completing the game, the four students returned to their school, while Alex went back to when he started playing Jumanji in 1996. The next day at school, however, Spencer, Fridge, Bethany, and Martha heard the sound of the game's drums. In response, the four destroyed Jumanji with a bowling ball. ''Jumanji: The Next Level'' Unbeknownst to his friends, the Jumanji cartridge was repaired by Spencer, who longed to become Dr. Smolder Bravestone again. Presumably as a result of the damage it sustained, the levels and objective of Jumanji changed, as did the playable characters and most of the NPCs. The objective of this version of Jumanji is to retrieve the Falcon's Heart necklace from the villainous warlord Jurgen the Brutal and bring it before sunlight. Along with Dr. Smolder Bravestone, Moose Finbar, Professor Shelly Oberon, Ruby Roundhouse, and Seaplane McDonough, two new protagonists were added to Jumanji: thief Ming Fleetfoot and flying horse Cyclone. Like before, players are given three lives and presumably die for good if all are used up. The amount of individuals transported into the game is also limited to the amount of playable characters. Unlike the previous version of the game, however, the players are not able to select which character they control and are instead transformed into a seemingly random protagonist after they are sucked in. The only known way for the players to change their protagonist is to enter green-glowing water and make physical contact with the player they wish to switch avatars with. Villains of Jumanji The animated series features many dangerous characters, most of whom appear only once. The recurring characters include: *Van Pelt (portrayed by Jonathan Hyde in the 1995 film, voiced by Sherman Howard in the animated series, and portrayed by Bobby Cannavale in Welcome to the Jungle) - The only antagonist to appear in all three versions, Van Pelt is depicted as a big game hunter who wants to mount everyone's heads on his wall in the 1995 film and the animated series. He hunts everything, man or beast, without remorse. He hates Alan and wants to kill him. His most commonly used word in the animated series if anything goes wrong, is "Blast!" He is killed by Peter in one episode of the series, but Peter becomes him as there must always be a hunter, so Alan and Judy bring him back. In Welcome to the Jungle, Van Pelt is given the first name Russel and reimagined as a corrupt explorer attempting to gain possession of the Jaguar's Eye jewel. Instead of relying on firearms, Van Pelt's 2017 incarnation has the zoopathic ability to control wildlife and is also assisted by a group of henchmen. *J.H. "Trader" Slick (voiced by Tim Curry) - The wicked merchant of Jumanji, who sells items to anyone who can meet the terms of his transactions, and has been known to sell simple tools to rare and powerful artifacts to a vast clientele throughout the series. He lives and sells his wares at a trading post located at the heart of the jungle. He always says his whole name when introducing himself, but his middle name changes a lot of time. Some of the items he has sold include a rare paint he tricked Alan into buying, the Slickomatic, a giant potion to make Peter grow and later the antidote, the ChronoRepeater, a "Get Out of Jumanji Free" Card that only worked once, a love potion for Judy, and even a motorboat which allows Peter and Judy to return to their time. If necessary, he becomes a real danger to the trio, but his biggest part in the series is just a sly, cunning swindler known as "Honest John Dealership". *Professor J.S. Heinrich Ibsen (voiced by William Sanderson) - The mad scientist of Jumanji. He invents dangerous Steampunk-like machines. Ibsen is tasked to "work" for Jumanji, creating dangers and nightmare machines like poisoned acid-spitting frogs and battle-armored rhinos. He sends daily reports to "Jumanji" itself which broadcasts throughout the jungle. He calls himself a "Master Builder of Jumanji." This is a reference to the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen and his play "The Master Builder". *Captain Ishmael Squint (voiced by Charles Napier) - The cruel pirate who sails the Jumanji Sea. In "Eye of the Sea", he lost his nose during the battle against the one-eyed sea monster with a hideous odor called "The Draken" over 20 years ago. The Draken is something of a cross between a dragon and a kraken, with a single huge eye like Cyclops. Squint's vengeful pursuit of the Draken is remininscent of Captain Ahab in the Herman Melville Moby Dick. The monster ate Squint alive before Alan stabbed it in the eye, killing it. In "Return of Squint", he later came back with two new shipmates. He forces Judy, Peter and Alan to help him search for treasure at the bottom of the sea with Ibsen's submarine, but get captured by demonic mermaids with his new shipmates while the other three escape. *Mr. Shreve - Squint’s 1st one-eyed shipmate. *Mr. Shatic - Squint’s 2nd one-legged shipmate. *Stalker - The demonic Grim Reaper villain who is the Protector of Jumanji. He is the "Game Over" Demon of Jumanji. He first appeared in "No Dice" when Alan stole the dice from the real world. He is apparently destroyed when he is crushed by a piston, but is revealed to have survived. In "The Gift", Stalker brought Van Pelt, Trader Slick, and Professor Ibsen together to kill the kids after Alan was poisoned by a demonic centipede as Peter threatened to destroy Jumanji if Alan died. He is again defeated after being shoved down a waterfall by Alan, but survives again. His name and destiny was never revealed in the show. *Aston Philips - The greedy adventurer. He considers himself the biggest and bravest and betrays even his agents: Alan, Judy and Peter. His catchphrase is "Aston Philips has done it again". Though he was thought to have died in the Temple of Riddles in "The Palace of Clues", he actually survived and resurfaced when it came to looking for the Golden Goblet of Jumanjicon. He encountered Alan, Judy, and Peter again in their search for the artifact and even reclaimed his compass that Trader Slick swindled him into trading. After drinking from the Golden Goblet of Jumanjicon, he reverted to childhood form. *Ludwig Von Richtor (voiced by Alan Oppenheimer) - The German hunter who is the rival of Hunter Van Pelt. He competed with Van Pelt in hunting Alan. In "The Ultimate Weapon", Ludwig Von Richtor was present at Trader Slick's auction for the Trans-Vector of Jumanji. *Ape Judge (voiced by Edward Asner) - An ape-like law keeper that presided over the trial of Alan when he was accused of stealing the Singing Orb from an ape. However, he is not a benevolent Judge as he condemns all without regard to innocence. He is also very greedy as shown when he takes an orb from the Fludgels and is sucked into it. In "The Ultimate Weapon," the Judge was present at Trader Slick's auction for the Trans-Vector of Jumanji. His only weapon is "Justice" which is a giant gorilla. *Flint (voiced by Charlie Schlatter) - An evil wizard created by Jumanji to mess with Judy's mind. Turns people into stone, but is defeated by Judy when she reflects his own attack back at him, freeing his victims and turning him to stone. Is presumably destroyed when his statue falls thousands of feet to the ground. *Jamazon Queen Gina - The leader of the Jumanji Amazons. Tries to marry Alan, but is defeated by Aunt Nora. In "The Ultimate Weapon," Queen Gina was present at Trader Slick's auction for the Trans-Vector of Jumanji but did not take part in the reclaiming of the device. *Black Ant Queen - The Black Ant leader of Jumanji. In "The Ultimate Weapon," the Black Ant Queen was present at Trader Slick's auction for the Trans-Vector of Jumanji but did not take part in the reclaiming of the device. *Red Ant Queen - The Red Ant leader of Jumanji. In "The Ultimate Weapon," the Red Ant Queen was present at Trader Slick's auction for the Trans-Vector of Jumanji but did not take part in the reclaiming of the device. *Sand King (voiced by Jim Cummings) - The sand monster who is the ruler the sand kingdom and tries to get a chest of cursed gold from Judy, Peter and Alan. He gets destroyed by Peter with a squirt gun. *Jurgen the Brutal (portrayed by Rory Mccann) - An iron-fisted and arrogant warlord and the main antagonist of Jumanji: The Next Level. Gallery Jumanji.jpg|Jumanji. Jumanji Board Game.jpg|The inside of the Jumanji board game. The Jumanji Boardgame.jpg|The Jumanji boardgame. jumani-movie-screencaps.com-1006.jpg|The Rhino and the Elephant tokens. Jumanji Boardgame.jpg|Jumanji buried under the sand after Alan and Sarah disposed of it twenty six years ago. Jumanji board game (animated series).jpg|The Jumanji board game in the animated series of the same name. Jumanji-video-game.png|The screen which shows up before playing the Jumanji video game. Category:Villainous Tools and Other Items Category:Magic Category:Possessed Objects Category:Sentient Weapons Category:Prisons Category:Paranormal Category:Summoning Category:Voodoo Category:Elementals